With an excess of qualified students and a limited number of seats, the Delhi University is famous for its stringent exam-score requirements.

But now DU looks set to turn over a new leaf. The Delhi University is planning to scrap the cut-off list system and move to an entrance test for admissions in undergraduate courses from the academic session 2017-18.

Professor Nachiketa Singh of the Khalsa College told Mail Today: ‘The test would be objective. The entrance test is likely be of 80 marks and 20 marks would be kept for assessing the CBSE marks of the particular subject in which the student will appear for the test.’

The Delhi University is planning to scrap the cut-off list system and move to an entrance test for admissions in undergraduate courses from the academic session 2017-18.

Singh is a member of DU’s academic council and was also part of the 2016 admission committee.

Singh said there would likely be an all-India level entrance test, which would be conducted at centres across several states.

While doing away with cut-off lists, the varsity is expected to set minimum admission scores along with the examination.

The proposal has already been discussed with the Ministry of Human Resource development (MHRD).

All central universities are allowed to set their own admission policies.

Hundreds of thousands of students from across the country compete to get into the over six dozen colleges of DU that admit about 54,000 undergraduates every year.

When asked about the all-India entrance test, varsity vice chancellor Yogesh Tyagi told Mail Today: ‘In this regard, I won’t be able to make any comments. There is an admission committee and it is well aware about it.’

DU professors admitted that a move is being contemplated.

‘The issue is being hotly debated across the campus,’ a Jesus and Mary college professor said.

The prestigious university currently demands near perfect scores in school leaving exams for admission in its popular colleges and courses.

The highest cut-off last year was 99.25 per cent for B.Com (Hons) in Ramjas College.

‘If the new system is be implemented, it would create trouble for the students,’ said a university official on the condition of anonymity.

‘Students with high marks won’t get admission easily. Everyone will now have to appear for the entrance test.’

‘Secondly, options for applying in several courses will come to an end. If a student applies for more than one course and the dates of the entrance test clash, he or she would likely be allowed to appear in only exam that day.’

The process of holding an entrance test for admissions to over 75 colleges is under consideration and the scores would decide which colleges an aspirant is eligible to apply for.

Wishing anonymity, a high placed source at the varsity said: ‘This move from the university has come after reports that school boards were increasing marks with many students getting high scores but were still unable to get admission in DU colleges, because the cut-offs scaled new heights every year.’

‘Such an exam would require extensive work because over three lakh students from all over the country apply for admissions every year.’

Some colleges from the varsity’s north as well south campus do hold entrance exams for certain courses, but the cut-off marks remain the key admission criterion across most DU colleges.